1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to method and apparatus for correcting a person's spine, particularly for directing a person's spine toward a desired shape.
2. The Prior Art
Previously for back and neck problems, chiropractors and other practitioners have applied flexion traction to the cervical spine i.e. have tractioned or stretched the upper or neck portion of a patient's spine, including stretching ligaments or muscles thereat. The patient could be sitting, standing or lying down and subjected to a pulling or stretching force e.g. as by a harness around the patient's chin and the pulling force applied thereto. See for examples, U.S. Pat. No. 2,640,480 (1953) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,816 (1982) mentioned below. This approach however, merely stretches and flattens the spinal curve, as seen in a side x-ray view of the patient i.e. flattens and/or distorts the desired spinal curve that nature intended. Thus at the present time there is believed no traction method or apparatus aimed at restoring this spine to an improved or optimum shape and position and/or side view curve and there is a need and market therefor.
Accordingly, there has now been discovered a method and apparatus for improving or correcting spinal difficulties of a person, in which a person's spinal curve is directed toward a position and/or shape that nature intended, to support man's carriage e.g. in the upright position.
Broadly the present invention provides method and apparatus for directing a person's spine toward an improved and/or optimum shape comprising, reclining said person, so that at least his upper back is supported on an inclined surface with his head inclined further backwardly and applying compressive forces to the forehead of said person at an acute angle with the upper spine of said person, to apply extension traction and spine curvature forces to at least the upper spine of said person.
Also the method and apparatus of the invention further provide for applying a lateral (posterior to anterior) force to a lower portion of the spine, e.g. by positioning a fulcrum cushion between a lower portion of said back and such inclined surface with or without application of the above compressive forces, to further direct the spine of such person toward improved curvature thereof.
By "an optimum spinal shape" as used herein, is meant any one of the spinal configurations as defined in D. D. Harrison's "Chiropractic Physics of Spinal Correction", C.P.B., Vol. 4 (1988).
By '37 lateral force" as used herein, is meant a posterior to anterior force (applied to a person's spine).